Frame rate ?

[ludo62]

I have a thermometor built in on my tower ( it's one of those towers with see-trough side panel ) . The highest it has been in my computer is about 34 degrees celcius, i don't think that's too hot . Anything special on the program today ? I'm going to install CFS 3 today and try to download some more planes for both games , then i'll play some NHL 2004 with my son . Hope to hear from you soon i'm always thrilled with your expertise .

[jordonj]

As long as your system is stable (as in not consistently locking up or crashing) you should be fine.

[ludo62]

Wow , great screenshots !!! Can you tell me how you take screenshots when you're flying ? I would really like to take some of my own and show them to you . I did finally put CFS 3 on my computer and it looks great , i downloaded some planes that i'm planning to put on the game , i hope it works . My computer is well ventilated i have 3 seperate fans + 1 on my videocard and 1 on my processor . I also have neon lighting in my computer which does'nt emit any heat at all , but i don't use them now anyway ( not dark enough lol ) . Talk to you later jordanj  ;D

[jordonj]

1. pause the game

2. select the view you want (Such as the outside view in the case of mine)

3.  press the Print Screen key

4.  Ctrl+Alt+Del out of FS2004 (without closing it) and open MS Paint.

5.  hit Ctrl+V or select Paste from the Edit menu.

6.  Save the image.

Volia!  You have an image ready to use as wallpaper in your machine.

Later, when you're done flying,  You can upload the image.  Here are the instructions to do so.

Bear in mind the restrictions for the images (the size of the image in pixels, the size of the file).  You WILL need to edit the image taken with the above steps.  To do so, I used a program called PIXresizer.  It's quick, and stupid-simple to use (just the way I like it).

Stratobat told me about it (thanks again Stratobat)

You can find Pixresizer here.

I suggest posting the screenshots in Graphic Gallery forums.  Mine (as you can see) are in the freeware screenshots gallery.

[jordonj]

Did you get a look at this post?

[ludo62]

Great stuff , but isn't easier to run msconfig and go to the startup button , there you can shut down everything thats running in the background . What do you think ? I tried making a screenshot when i was flying an F-15 and i did everything you said and it did'nt work of course . i'll try it again later . That no cd thing what does it do ? How can it improve the performance of the game ? Does'nt the program take up a lot of space ? I know i have a lot of drive space to work with , can you tell me how big that program is ? When your flying FS 2004 what's your frame rate ? Cya , hope to hear from you soon .

[jordonj]

Great stuff , but isn't easier to run msconfig and go to the startup button , there you can shut down everything thats running in the background . What do you think ? I tried making a screenshot when i was flying an F-15 and i did everything you said and it did'nt work of course . i'll try it again later . That no cd thing what does it do ? How can it improve the performance of the game ? Does'nt the program take up a lot of space ? I know i have a lot of drive space to work with , can you tell me how big that program is ? When your flying FS 2004 what's your frame rate ? Cya , hope to hear from you soon .

Okay, one thing at a time...

The trouble with msconfig is that when you turn stuff off, the computer boots in safe mode.  Also, some stuff you turn off turns itself right back on when you re-boot.

The way I turn uneeded services off in through the management console.  To get there, right-click My Computer and select Manage.  Select services and applications from on the right side.  Then services from the right side.  (I'll send a list tomorrow).

My steps didn't work for you?  Hmmm...

Do you have Paint open before you start FS?

If you do, then you can Alt+Tab over to it after hitting the Print Screen key (if that doesn't work, try hitting Alt+Print Screen).  One of the 2 should get you a screenshot.  Save it and go back to flying.

The No-Cd.exe keeps the game from having to access the CD-ROM, so the computer can keep it's attention on running the game.  It's a small file (smaller than the original exe, you replace it)

FS Autostart shuts down all those proceesses that run in the background, and are not needed during most games (especially Flight Simulator).  And while they are running, they slow down the game.  It re-starts them after you shut down the game.  It adds maybe another minute to your loading, but hey, it's worth it.  It's not big (the whole folder is less than 400Kb)

I can't say for sure how much this will improve your system's performance, since your system is newer than mine.  I know it did on mine though.

PIXresizer is also small  (less than 1MB) so you're not  putting that much, and its great for editing the photos to the requirements listed on the upload page.

I've never really measured my frame rate (how do you do that?)  I do know it varies according to traffic and how much clouds the game has to draw (mine is set to real-world weather).

[ludo62]

I'll give the screenshot another chance and use your guidelines ( again ) and see if it works or not . Maybe i'll try that no cd program and see what will happen , maybe my computer will explode, lol . Hope you have a great sunday , and if your a dad a happy father's day . Talk to you later friend .

[jordonj]

Happy Father's day to you as well (yes, I am a Dad).

[jordonj]

Since you and I seem to be the only 2 people particpating in this thread, I am going to send via private message from now on...

I have also posted some new images in the galleries/freeware forum...

[FS_Pilot]

I would say your frame rate is stuck on 20 fps because you haven't adjusted the frame rate slider. go into settings, display, hardware and adjust the slider up a bit. You can slide it all the way up just to see what your maximum frame rate is. I like to run mine at a maximim of about 25fps to conserve resourses, but i can get it up to about 50 fps.

[ludo62]

Thanks , i'll give that a try . I just had a quick look and the slider goes all the way up to 100 , could that be right ? Happy flying

[AndyG]

I was told that the best way to handle frame rates was to slide it all the way to unlimited, and then the card will sort things out itself.  Tried it over the weekend, and it definitely works, getting the best responses I ever had- regularly getting 50-60 fps, and even 20+ in my heaviest scenery/addon areas.

[brundlefly]

I think i'm gonna sell the game .

i haven't read all 3 pages of this thread , but those words right there pretty much sums it up for me. too expensive of a hobby for me,**** it. . not to mention this is the ONLY game i have come across where you have to BUY all of the good

[ludo62]

I haven't tried sliding up the bar the whole way . My computer has not crashed yet since i had those problems,
but i do have to say that with a 256 meg videocard my graphics coud be better . So thanks for the advice and happy flying